as the syrian government and rebels trade accusations on chemical weapons, the democratic senator, bob casey, and republican marco rubio unveiled legislation that would give the rebels body armor and communications gear, but it would not immediately arm the opposition with any lethal weapons. at least not as far as we know. the united states has been weighing whether to get more engaged in sera as the self -- civil war gets bloodier. joining us, he is a senior analyst. arm them. what do you think? >> well, shep, if the reports are true, of chemical weapon use, and even if they're not but if the rumor grows, there's going to be increased pressure arm them. as you have reported the president called chemical weapons use a red line. while there's not high appetite to go in and attack the country, using an aerial bombardment, there's a high likelihood the call to arm them would be seen as a compromise between inaction and going in. so the chemical weapons story will have a strong bearing on that. >> shepard: from your reporting in this region, is it your sense that the politicians ever read